The Film Council have released their list of the seven best British films of all time.
They chose Goldfinger; Brief Encounter; Billy Liar; Henry V (1944); The Wicker Man, The Dam Busters and Withnail and I
Unimpressed?
So am I.
Nothing by Korda. Nothing by Ronald Neame, that most underrated of British directors. No Third Man or films by Launder and Gilliat. And no Ealing comedies.
Disgraceful.
For what it's worth, here's my top ten best British films of all time- in no particular order.
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Whistle Down the Wind
Trainspotting
The 39 Steps (Hitchcock version)
The Thief of Bagdad (no, its not about neo-cons....)
The Third Man
Tunes of Glory
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Brief Encounter
Green for Danger
Bubbling under: Millions Like Us, The Naked Truth, The Rebel, Hobson's Choice, I'm All Right Jack, School for Scoundrels, The Remains of the Day, An Inspector Calls, Scrooge.
How about you?
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5 comments:
It's very interesting--why do british film types so underrate Alfred Hitchcock? I know he went to America but he did loads here and more or less wrote love letters to London. The inclusion of withnail and I just gives the game away I suppose; the independentized merchant ivory with a twist of drugs...hmmmmmm
Anything starring Ian MacShane!
I am shocked - shocked! - that you didn't mention anything from 1976, which you recently assured us was the greatest year in the entire history of human civilisation.
Lest we forget, these are the domestically-produced gems that British audiences could have seen during the year:
Adventures of a Taxi Driver (which outgrossed Taxi Driver at the UK box office, so it must be good)
Confessions of a Driving Instructor (co-starring the father-in-law of a British Prime Minister)
Dear Marjorie Boobs (with a title like that, how can it fail?)
Emily (starring Koo Stark, who got involved with a Royal, so that must be good too)
House of Mortal Sin
I'm Not Feeling Myself Tonight
Keep It Up Downstairs
Satan's Slave
Schizo
Secrets of a Superstud
Ealing? Brief Encounter? Pah!
I would add if possible - 'great expectations' and 'the sound barrier'
Plus some of the films I saw as a child during the war. Can't remember the names but booing of the villains was encouraged.
robin: While 1976 certainly led the way in so many things (politics was good, the sitcoms were out of this world, the weather sensational, the sport unforgettable and the music amazing)... I'll admit that films wasn't one of them. Britain undoubtedly made much better films in the 1960s than it did in the 70s.
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